print

Dispatch Center

The City of Green Fire Division has an enhanced 9-1-1 system, which enables the 9-1-1 operator (referred to as the "dispatcher") to identify through the system's computer, the phone number and address of the calling party. This assists in timely dispatching of a Sheriff's Deputy and/or Fire/EMS units to the emergency scene. On April 8th, 2005 the City began operating joint dispatch services for the communities of Coventry, Springfield, Lakemore and Uniontown. This new dispatch consortium will enable the City to provide a more cost effective and proficient dispatching operation for Green and all of the participating communities.

When a 9-1-1 call is received, the call will be answered by a Summit County Sheriff's Office dispatcher. The Sheriff's office dispatcher ascertains if the call requires the response by the police or the Fire Division. Calls for the Fire Division are instantly transferred to the fire station with the 9-1-1 data.

The Sheriff's office dispatcher needs to know the type of emergency and will ask for a description of the problem. This allows the dispatcher to decide how to route the call. If it is a police matter, they will stay on the line and take information. If it is a fire or medical emergency, they will tell the caller to stay on the line and transfer the call to the Fire Division. The telephone line will ring again and a fire dispatcher will answer and ask the caller if it is a fire or medical emergency. An address and phone number will be asked to verify the 9-1-1 information.

When calling 9-1-1, try to stay calm. State what kind of emergency it is, and then tell the dispatcher location of incident. The caller should remain on the telephone to answer more questions; but in most cases emergency units already have been dispatched even while the caller is talking with the dispatcher. It is a good idea to teach children their home address and telephone number as soon as possible. Even though in most cases when a caller dials 9-1-1 the address and phone number of the caller's location is immediately displayed to the dispatcher, this is not the case when the call is made from a cellular telephone. Cellular telephone calls to 9-1-1 used to all be routed through the State Highway Patrol. This was recently changed, and now cell phone calls are routed through the closest cellular tower site, which may be many miles from where the caller is actually making the call. As such, it is important to remember that when calling 9-1-1 from a cellular phone that the dispatcher does not receive accurate caller information on the 9-1-1 screen.

Our dispatchers are specially trained to handle medical emergency requests and can provide self-help instructions to the caller while units are enroute. Fire engines, ambulances, and a variety of other vehicles are dispatched according to the nature of the call. All City of Green fire fighters are cross trained as paramedics, and are classified as "firemedics". The Firemedics are capable of providing advanced life-support treatment including IVs, drug therapy, and cardiac monitoring.